Hoboken Protest Update: Mayor, Police Chief Address Planned Event

HOBOKEN, NJ — After issuing a written response on Saturday to the death of George Floyd, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla said Monday night that he was "concerned" that a planned protest in Hoboken for Friday may violate social distancing protocol for coronavirus, and about dangers from those who attend for "reasons that are improper."

On Tuesday night, Bhalla and Police Chief Ken Ferrante issued a joint statement:

<blockquote>Throughout the past several days, residents from all across America have demonstrated their First Amendment rights to peacefully protest the brutal and unjust murder of George Floyd. We fully support the right for our residents to peacefully demonstrate in the name of justice and racial equality.

As residents may know, a demonstration is being organized for Friday in Hoboken. We want to assure our residents that the Hoboken Police Department has spent the past several days preparing for the event. The Hoboken Police Department and Office of Emergency Management are fully prepared to ensure the safety of all residents, demonstrators, and businesses. While we ask residents and our businesses to remain vigilant, please rest assured that the HPD is taking every proactive measure possible to protect our city.

To this end, we continue to actively speak with the organizers of Friday’s event in order to protect demonstrators, residents, and businesses alike. We are also confident that the vast majority of individuals participating in the event will peacefully demonstrate, but still pledge to take every precaution necessary to safeguard our city.

Thank you to residents for your understanding.</blockquote>

George Floyd died on Memorial Day at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. The officer, whose actions were captured on video, has been charged with murder.

Cities from New York to Philadelphia to Chicago have seen several days of protests. Twitter users have announced a protest in Hoboken on June 5 at 1 p.m.

On Saturday, Bhalla said, "I join the rest of the national in mourning the tragic and brutal murder of George Floyd ... Peaceful protestors should be listened to, heard, and respected."

On Monday, Bhalla added that he was concerned about an upcoming protest in Hoboken, for health and safety reasons.

"I spoke to the organizers of the protest today and we and discussed many logistical issues," Bhalla wrote in a long statement on Facebook. "I expressed my solidarity with the movement for racial justice, and we discussed our joint desire for this to be a peaceful and non-violent protest. ... However, I am also concerned this event cannot be socially distant, as we have seen in other parts of the country, and may expose attendees to a risk of danger from individuals who may attend for reasons that are improper — despite the best intentions of the organizers of this protest. For this reason, I cannot offer you advice as to whether or not to attend this gathering, except to make an educated decision and express your free speech rights 'eyes wide open' about the pandemic we are facing and safer alternatives discussed above."

Bhalla also noted that there will be a prayer vigil in Hoboken on Thursday at 5 p.m.

Read more of Bhalla's Monday night statement here.

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